In 2001, Tom Reilly published a book called Honourable Enemy, which sought to vindicate Oliver Cromwell from the charges of war crimes against the civilian population of Ireland during his campaign there in 1649. The principal accusations come from his siege and capture of the cities of Drogheda and Wexford. That book set up a …
Review: The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth
The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth by R.A. Torrey My rating: 4 of 5 stars In the early part of the twentieth century a controversy in the church erupted between the modernists and the fundamentalists. The fundamentalists got their name from the fact that they published an enormous number of booklets defending “the fundamentals,” …
History and Meaning/Eighth Decade of Psalms: Psalm 78
Introduction: In this psalm of covenantal remembrance, Asaph gives us inspired commentary on the history of Israel, from the Exodus down to the time of David. It is largely a story of God and man contending, God with blessing and man with sinning. It is also a history full of lessons and dark meanings for …
Racial Held Evans
It is somewhat difficult for me to piece this together because Rachel Held Evans has blocked me on Twitter, and so I only get oblique references from other directions. But apparently there has been another outburst of indignation against me on Twitter for my views on race and Southern slavery, and some of her comments …
The #NeverTrump Card
Getting Some Distance: Let us try to tear ourselves away from the gaudy spectacle that is American politics right now, and work through the theological logic of voting. I know that it is hard to tear ourselves away from the gaudy spectacle, which resembles nothing so much as a circus wagon full of mutant monkeys …
It Is Gold Paint, Actually, Not Actual Gold
Having gotten through what we all believe to have been one of the wildest political seasons ever, such that we are all checking our watches and starting to gather our stuff so that we might go, it suddenly dawns on us that the circus orchestra has only just finished the overture. There is a lot …
Bricks Made Out of Fog
Introduction: I would like to try to make a very simple point, but one which could be misconstrued in a thousand different ways. I would ask my friends not to do so, my enemies not to do so too violently, and for the vast horde wavering between friendship and hostility to read the whole thing …
Review: Anatomy of Melancholy and Other Poems
Anatomy of Melancholy and Other Poems by Robert Wrigley My rating: 4 of 5 stars Decent stuff. Some good images here. View all my reviews
Faithful Desolation: Eighth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 77
Introduction: We have been considering psalms of deliverance, and this psalm is no different in that respect. But one notable distinction here is that the deliverance seemed late in coming, and the psalmist struggled mightily with that providence. In his struggle, he teaches us how to struggle when we are confronted with anything similar. And …
Who Swears To His Own Hurt
So I wrote that I was grateful for the fact that Cruz did not endorse Donald Trump. I still am grateful. But I also have noticed, online and in personal conversations, that a number of people (who are not Trump fans) are arguing that Cruz should be rejected for good over this because he was …